


Blind Dates

by obsessivechild



Category: Bandom, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Blind Date, First Date, First Dates, First Kiss, M/M, Nerves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-20
Updated: 2015-08-20
Packaged: 2018-04-16 07:54:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4617396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obsessivechild/pseuds/obsessivechild
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gerard's never been on a blind date. It's not his thing.<br/>There's a first time for everything though.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blind Dates

"Come on, Gee! You haven't been on a date in ages."

Gerard scoffed.

"Dates are social constructs. Who says I have to abide by them?"

Mikey rolled his eyes at his brother's big words.

"He's a nice guy and you two would be perfect together."

Before Gerard had a chance to say something about the constitute of perfection, Mikey carried on, "I told him you'd meet him on Friday at seven at that bar you like; the one on the corner."

Gerard sighed.

"Mikes, seriously-"

"Please, Gee. Honestly you'll fall in love with him as soon as you see him. He's basically an even cockier version of you."

Gerard raised an eyebrow as if questioning if that was possible.

"Why does this mean so much to you?" Gerard could tell he was already giving in.

Mikey looked a bit unsure but eventually said, "Look, I shouldn't be saying this but he's had a tough time this year and I think meeting you might be the cheer up he needs."

"How is meeting me supposed to cheer him up?"

Mikey grinned at him like he was an idiot.

"No reason."

Gerard sighed again.

He wasn't a big fan of dates or even going outside in general.

But it was Mikey asking him and Gerard couldn't really say no to Mikey.

"Fine. I'll do it."

Mikey's eyes lit up instantly.

"Thanks, Gee! Honestly, you'll like him. I wouldn't set you up if you wouldn't."

Gerard was still skeptical.

"Right."

"Oh and," Mikey smiled, "His name is Frank."

 

*

 

Gerard was regretting this decision the moment he stepped into the bar.

How was he supposed to know what this 'Frank' character looked like.

Mikey wasn't the best at setting up blind dates.

The bar was already filling up with the locals and the amount of people worried Gerard a little.

He told himself to suck it up.

It would only be a couple of hours to endure.

If Mikey was right and this guy was right up Gerard's street, then it might not be too bad.

Gerard wasn't getting his hopes up though.

He had given up on dating a long time ago.

He could barely talk to anyone besides his brother without a beer in him and this wasn't any different.

After asking the bartender for a beer and then changing his mind and asking for two instead, _first impressions mattered_ , he sat on one of the stools and looked around nervously.

Looking around soon proved too much for him though and he ended up just staring down at his beer bottle.

He wasn't exactly early.

It was almost five past seven.

Maybe this guy was all for being fashionably late or whatever.

Gerard hoped not.

He wasn't into guys like that.

Or maybe he was being stood up?

Where the fuck had that thought come from?

He had only been here for five minutes.

Gerard told himself to get a grip.

After a few painfully long minutes when Gerard was getting even more anxious, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

He turned around without thinking to see a man with black hair and different piercings smiling nervously at him.

He was wearing a denim jacket and a Misfits t-shirt.

Gerard mentally applauded him.

On his hands and neck were various tattoos and Gerard found himself wondering how much of Frank's body was covered.

This was probably the most attractive person Gerard had seen in real life in a long time.

And he was definitely gawking at him.

"Gerard right?" He sounded more nervous than he looked.

Gerard realised he was staring and pulled himself out of his daze.

"What? Uh yeah. Gerard. You're... Frank?"

It was more of a question than a statement but Frank didn't seem to mind.

He nodded and held out a coloured hand.

Gerard thought for a moment before hesitantly taking it and shaking it.

When they both pulled away, they were silent, unsure of what to say.

Gerard remembered the beer next to him.

"Oh," He picked it up, "I got this for you. Is beer okay?"

"Sweet," Frank smiled and sat down next to him, taking the beer, "Thanks."

"No problem," Gerard shrugged.

It went quiet again.

Frank laughed nervously.

"Jeez, this is awkward."

Gerard nodded, glad he wasn't the only one thinking this.

"I don't normally do something like this, you know?" Frank continued.

"No, me either," Gerard cleared his throat a little.

What was he supposed to say to make this situation more bearable?

"So uh," He thought quickly, "You know Mikey then?"

Frank smiled.

"Yeah. One of my friends introduced me to him a while back. He's a nice guy. You're his brother right?"

Gerard nodded, "Yeah."

Frank turned his head to the side a little and looked at him, thinking.

"Yeah, I can see that. You guys have the same nose."

Gerard touched his nose subconsciously.

"Your eyes are slightly darker though," Frank carried on.

Gerard frowned.

"You've taken note of the colour of my brother's eyes?"

Frank's eyes widened immediately as he realised how weird that sounded.

"Not in a creepy way," He tried to justify himself, "I just notice those kinds of things."

"Right..." Gerard smirked a little.

"Seriously, man, I'm not weird. I swear."

The smile on Gerard's lips widened a bit.

"Whatever you say. Maybe I should write down how dark your eye colour is to make us even."

It was a stupid excuse to get a closer look at Frank but Gerard went with it.

A smirk appeared on Frank's face.

"Go ahead."

He suddenly moved in closer to Gerard and opened his eyes wide.

Gerard sniggered a little at the expression he was making.

"What pretty, hazel eyes you have."

Frank sat back again.

"Why thank you."

They both felt better after that and the initial nerves started to wear off.

"So what do you do, Gerard?" Frank took a swig of his beer.

"I just left art school and I'm trying to get my name out there. It's hard though," Gerard sighed a little.

Frank looked instantly interested.

"What kind of art do you do?"

"Well, I hope to make my own comic book one day," Gerard told him, "But for now, I'm just looking to see if any are hiring artists."

He fiddled with the label on his beer bottle.

"That's cool," Frank sounded like he genuinely meant it, "You'll have to show me some of your work sometime. I love comics."

"Really?" Gerard seemed unsure.

"Yeah!" Frank grinned, "I bet you're amazing."

Gerard blushed slightly at hearing that.

"I'm alright, I guess."

Frank shook his head, not having that.

"Dude, you went to art school. You're obviously more than 'alright'."

Gerard wasn't too sure what to say to that so he turned the subject on Frank instead.

"Well... What about you? What do you do?"

Frank sighed a little.

"I'm kinda in between jobs at the moment. I'm hoping to work in music but it's a pretty hard industry to get into. Not as hard as art but still pretty bad."

Gerard perked up a little.

As well as art, music was a big part of his life.

"What do you want to do exactly?"

"Make music," Frank sighed, "I want to be in a band. Like, a proper one. One that people actually listen to and one that plays outside of their mom's garage."

Frank was obviously highly invested in this because there was so much passion in his voice.

Gerard was going to ask what sort of music he wanted to make but then he remembered something.

"I can kind of guess what music you're into," Gerard gestured towards Frank's Misfits t-shirt.

Frank looked down at it and grinned.

"Yeah. The Misfits rock."

Gerard nodded, agreeing.

"What music are you into?" Frank asked.

This question surprised Gerard a little.

"Oh um that's a big question," Gerard bit his lip, "I like heavy stuff like Metallica, Smashing Pumpkins and The Misfits," He nodded towards Frank's t-shirt again, "But I also enjoy Queen and Radiohead occasionally. Bowie's pretty cool."

He shrugged as as form of sentence ender.

Frank's eyes widened.

"Woah," He grinned, "Your taste in music is rad!"

Gerard felt himself blushing again and mentally cursed himself.

"A good music taste _and_ hot? Jeez, I might be punching above my weight here."

Frank winked at him and took another swig of his beer.

Gerard's eyes widened at Frank's statement.

Frank thought that Gerard was out of _his_ league?

The was definitely bullshit.

Gerard wanted to say that Frank had it the wrong way around but his mouth was dry and his hands were sweaty.

Frank had changed the subject anyway.

"What do you do in your free time?" He asked before pulling a face, "Shit, what a crappy question. Sorry, I'm not exactly a great first date."

Gerard shook his head immediately.

"No, you're doing better than me. At least you're actually attempting to engage in conversation."

Frank laughed a little, a throaty laugh that seemed to take Gerard's breath away.

"Well, I'm glad I haven't scared you away yet then. Although, the eye thing was a close one."

Gerard smiled, "That's true. It's a good thing you're ridiculously attractive."

He wanted to take back the words as soon as he said them.

What an idiot!

Frank's eyes widened at Gerard's words.

"Woah. Seriously?"

Gerard couldn't help himself; he nodded awkwardly.

A smile took over Frank's face.

"You're one smooth talker," He finished the last of his beer.

"Want another one?" He gestured towards Gerard's empty bottle.

Before Gerard had time to answer, Frank called over the bartender and bought two more beers, handing one to Gerard.

"You really didn't need to-" Gerard began but Frank cut him off.

"Hey, you bought me one. It's only fair. Plus, you just called me 'ridiculously attractive' so consider it a thanks."

Gerard smiled and took a sip of his drink.

"So," Frank attempted to start a conversation again.

Gerard was glad how at ease Frank was.

His laid back nature relaxed Gerard as well.

It sort of rubbed off on him.

"How old are you? Sorry. I'm running out of questions," Frank smirked.

"That's okay," Gerard smiled, "I'm twenty-three."

"Hey, me too," Frank grinned, obviously happy by this fact.

Frank's smile made Gerard's smile bigger.

Okay, this guy was definitely too good for him.

How had Mikey even got this guy to meet up with him?

Surely he had people lining up on the street to go out with him.

"I've been wondering," Frank smiled a little, "Why did you agree to go on a blind date? I can tell you've never been on one before."

"How can you tell?" Gerard asked.

Frank shrugged, "You're pretty nervous. Either you've never done this before or you're just like that anyway. Either way, it's pretty cute."

Gerard had to double take a bit.

Did Frank say that Gerard's nervousness was cute?

"It's both actually," Gerard admitted, "I'm just an anxious person in general. I've never been on a blind date before and I never really planned on ever going on one. It's not really my thing."

Frank seemed interested in this.

"Then why did you agree to meet up with me?"

Gerard didn't want to say that the only reason he had agreed was to make Mikey happy but he couldn't really think of anything else.

"To be honest, I took a lot of persuading," He admitted.

"Yeah, me too," Frank laughed a little.

"Really?"

Gerard couldn't believe that a confident guy like Frank could get nervous about a blind date.

"Well, yeah," Frank let out another throaty laugh, "I didn't know who I'd be meeting. What if you were some crazy psycho?"

Gerard laughed at that.

"I guess that would be a bit awkward."

Frank nodded, "Luckily for me, I couldn't have been set up with anyone better really."

Gerard flushed at his words, "Are you joking?"

"What?" Frank looked at him as if he was crazy, "No way! I don't mean to be over-complimentary but, shit... Have you seen yourself lately? And come on, man, you have a fucking amazing taste in music and you seem like a really nice guy. I haven't met one of those in a long time."

Gerard felt both embarrassed and insanely happy at the same time.

This guy was a real smooth talker.

"I..." Gerard didn't quite know how to respond.

"Aw shit. I've come on too strong haven't I? I'm sorry. I just... I haven't been on a date in forever and I-"

"Hey," Gerard found himself saying, "It's fine. You're just making my insides go funny that's all."

Gerard closed his eyes in reaction to what he had just said.

What was he? _Twelve?_

"I didn't intend for that to sound quite so babyish..."

Frank was smiling though.

"That's okay. Pretty cute actually."

Gerard drank more of his beer to try and hide the fact that he was blushing so much.

He was vaguely aware of the people around him but he was too busy focussing on Frank.

"You never answered my question," Frank observed.

"Hm? What?" Gerard looked at him again.

Frank smirked, "Why did you agree to meet up with me?"

Gerard thought for a moment.

In the end, he went with, "It was a mixture of making my brother happy and curiosity."

"Curiosity?"

How to word this...

"Well..." Gerard felt himself go red, "Mikes said that we would be 'perfect together' and that I'd apparently fall in love with you as soon as I saw you."

An amused look overtook Frank's face.

"Are you serious?"

Gerard nodded, "My brother tries anything."

Frank laughed and took a swig of his drink.

"He actually said similar things to me."

This intrigued Gerard.

"He did?"

Frank nodded, having another mouthful of beer.

"He told me that you were the type of guy he could see me marrying."

Gerard couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter.

Mikey was ridiculous.

"Seriously?" He managed to laugh out.

Gerard's laughter caused a smile to spread across Frank's face.

"Yeah. He also said, and I quote, 'I know I'm biased because he's my brother but he's a great guy and you'd be lucky to have him'."

Gerard shook his hand, smiling.

"Seriously, Mikey?"

Frank sniggered, "I know. I thought I'd see if he was right."

"Well," Gerard had gained some confidence, "How do you think it's going to far?"

He wanted to know what Frank was thinking because Gerard was actually tempted to say that this was a pretty good date so far.

"The date?" Frank asked.

Gerard nodded, nervous to see what he would say.

A grin spread across Frank's face and he slid closer to Gerard on his stool.

"Well... Do you think I could get your number?" He asked quietly.

Gerard was almost surprised by this and didn't know how to respond at first.

"I- My number?"

Frank nodded, his eyes never leaving Gerard's face.

After a moment, Gerard came back to life and pulled out his phone.

"Here," He opened contacts and handed it to Frank, "Just put your number in."

Frank smirked and took the phone, creating a new contact.

After a few seconds of silence, Frank looked up again and handed Gerard his phone back.

Gerard looked down at the new contact and smiled.

"Go on then," Frank nudged him, "Send me a message."

Gerard did as he asked and watched as Frank pulled his own phone out.

"Nice," Frank grinned down at the screen.

_'I just thought I'd remind you that you're really attractive. Just in case you forgot. -Gerard x'_

"Cheers," Frank looked back up and winked at him.

Gerard smiled and looked down, embarrassed.

"Woah," Frank suddenly said, "It's almost nine."

Gerard's eyes widened.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

How had they been talking for nearly two hours and only lasted on two beers each?

Gerard usually drank a lot more on a first date out of nerves.

The fact that he barely had this time surprised him.

"I"m sad to say," Frank looked disappointed, "I'm gonna have to go."

Gerard felt his heart sink.

"Oh okay."

"Believe me, I really don't want to," Frank grinned.

Gerard couldn't help but smile at that.

Frank stood up and so did Gerard.

"I'll walk you outside," Gerard said.

"What a gentleman," Frank's grin never wavered.

They walked to the bar's entrance.

The awkwardness between them had left ages ago and they were now completely at ease with each other.

When they stepped out into the crisp night air, they turned and faced each other.

"I'm definitely gonna have to see you again," Frank told him, "And I just want to say thanks. I've had a pretty crap year so far. This has taken my mind off of everything. Thanks, Gerard."

Gerard smiled at him, "That's okay. I've had a great time too."

He was aware how close Frank was standing next to him.

"I'll give you a ring then and we can maybe meet up sooner rather than later?"

Gerard nodded, "Sounds good."

They were both silent.

Frank looked down at his feet.

"I have a problem," He mumbled, still looking down.

Gerard was tempted to lift his chin up with his finger but he was too scared to.

"What is it?"

Frank finally looked up, a smirk playing on his lips and an apprehensive look in his eyes.

He bit his lip and moved even closer to Gerard.

Gerard's breath caught in his throat as he waited to see what he would say.

Eventually, he whispered, "I kind of really want to kiss you but I'm scared you'll hit me or something."

Gerard opened his mouth but no sound came out.

Frank was waiting for a reply though.

"I-I've never kissed anyone on the first date before..." Gerard finally whispered.

A smile tugged on the corners of Frank's lips.

"Maybe we should change that then."

That was enough for either of them.

Before he could think about it too much, Gerard closed the gap between them and pressed their lips together.

Frank smiled against the kiss.

After a moment or two, they both pulled away and smiled at each other shyly.

"I'll call you then," Frank said and started walking backwards for a few feet.

Gerard nodded.

Frank stopped and waved a little before turning around and walking off into the night.

Gerard watched him until he disappeared round a corner.

He then couldn't help it; he started laughing.

A happy laugh that had been missing for a while now.

And Frank had found it for him.

Gerard pulled out his phone and called his most popular number on his phone.

After three rings, he heard, "Hello?"

"Mikes," He smiled and began walking back to his apartment, "It went really well. Thanks for making me do this."


End file.
